Where and when did the Anthropocene start? In the coming months, scientists will choose a place and time to represent the moment when humanity became a "geological superpower" and overwhelm the natural processes that have governed Earth for billions of years.
The plutonium isotope rapidly blasted around the planet by the hydrogen bomb tests that began in late 1952 could be used to mark the start.
The impact of the postwar explosion on the Earth's natural nitrogen cycle is a possible choice. Some of the signs used to bolster the definition of the Anthropocene include microplastics, chicken bones and pesticide residues. There are a number of possible signs, including lake beds in the US and China and Australian corals.
An international team of almost 40 scientists, who have been commissioned by the official guardians of the geological timescale, have to find a place where layers show the transition from the previous age to the new one. There can be only one winner after the team came up with a list of 12 sites. The 11,700-year period during which all civilization arose, and which will end with the declaration of the Anthropocene, has been irrevocably changed by humanity. Greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and the destruction of wildlife have changed the atmosphere, lakes and oceans. Humans have a bigger impact on shaping the surface of the Earth than natural processes do.
Defining the Anthropocene is important because it brings together all the impacts of humans on the world and gives a platform for understanding and repairing the damage. A clear definition is needed for a debate.
The first vote is being cast. The site will need to show the effects of recent increases in human population, unprecedented industrialisation and globalisation, and changes imposed on the landscape, climate, and biosphere.
The creation of a new unit of time is a big decision in geological circles and the AWG needs to convince geologists that a new era is justified.
Hundreds of scientists are working to identify clear markers of change. The rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, recorded in trapped air bubbles in ice cores, and the huge change in the populations and locations of species are some of the markers of anthropogenic transformation.
The golden spike that is needed for a precise definition is offered by other markers. The United States carried out its first H-bomb test on the Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific Marshall Islands on 1 November 1952.
Some of the above-ground tests even rocketed into the sky. The effects of the tests were felt around the world within about 18 months.
Turner said that they tested their new arsenal a lot. The global marker is so useful for our work because it is time specific.
Small spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs), a type of tough fly ash only produced by the high- temperature burning of coal or heavy oil, are another useful marker. After WW2 there was a sudden increase in the number of thermoelectric plants. They are good at travelling on a continental scale and can be found around the world. For the first time, SCPs have been found in the ice core.
Scientists say plastic pollution is a marker of the Anthropocene. According to Waters, the 1950s is when the majority of the polymers that were familiar with being invented and started to appear in products.
It is possible to find plastic waste from the top of Mount Everest to the deepest ocean trench. The plutonium from the H-bomb tests have the advantage of never having appeared in the geological record before, but the rise in plastic pollution comes a couple of decades after that.
Chicken bones have been suggested as a marker of the Anthropocene by some scientists. Their genetics are different to those of their wild ancestors.
The biggest population of birds on the planet are chickens. Two-thirds of the mass of large mammals on the planet are domestic animals. The population size of wild animals is estimated by WWF. The biological changes are more gradual than other markers.
Scientists say that invasive species can be markers. The bay was transformed by the import of alien species in the water of ships. 98% of the mass of all the animal species in the bay were invaders. Change can be recorded from the pollen from introduced plants.
Turner said that the Green Revolution was based on the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides. The cocktail of industrial chemicals exploded after World War II. Chemicals in the environment may be markers of the Anthropocene.
Some of the markers are displayed in the 12 potential locations for the site that will define the new era. The Anthropocene has not been formally accepted, so we are still trying to prove to people that it is not a local phenomenon in their environment.
They all show how the Anthropocene has changed. Turner said that the sites which stand out are the ones where you can see an annual resolution of layers. These sites detail planetary changes at yearly resolutions.
There are pros and cons. The Palmer ice core is the longest record of the Anthropocene, but its remote location makes it hard to see some of the markers. As the Anthropocene begins, the Baltic Sea becomes dark. The oxygen in the water is being sucked out by pollution. Annual laminations are not present in the sediments. The site in central Vienna has a 200 year record but there are gaps in it because of the renovations.
When the mandate of the AWG expires, the international geological congress in South Korea will be the last one. According to Waters, we have until then to get this done.
Naomi Oreskes is a non-voting member of the AWG. It is no longer true. The evidence compiled by the AWG shows that the human footprint is present in rocks and artifacts. The cultural, political, and economic ramifications of our actions are highlighted by the Anthropocene.
Prof Mark Maslin, who co-authored The Human Planet with Prof Simon Lewis, said that the Anthropocene is a critical philosophy because it allows you to think about what impact we are having and what impact we want to have in the future.
The huge and deadly impact European colonizers had on the Americas and the world was proposed by Maslin and Lewis. Agreeing a definition is more important than where it is placed, according to Maslin.
Climate change, the biodiversity crisis, and the pollution crisis are all interrelated. We are the new geological superpower because we have a huge impact on the earth. You can say what do we do about it with thatholistic approach.
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